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To Dby Pigs' Cheeks

A method for curing and smoking a pig's head and cheeks using saltpetre, salt and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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To Dby Pigs' Cheeks

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Cut out the snout.

  2. Remove the brains.

  3. Split the head.

  4. Take off the upper bone.

Cure

  1. Rub the head well with salt.

  2. The next day, remove the brine.

  3. Salt the head again.

  4. Cover the head with saltpetre, bay salt, coarse sugar, and a little common salt.

  5. Turn the head often.

  6. Leave in the pickle for 10 days.

Smoke

  1. Smoke it for a week.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat and keeps it pink during curing.
Coarse sea salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it during curing.
Coarse sugar
Balances the saltiness and adds mild sweetness to the cured meat.

The step that matters

Cover the head with the cure mixture. The cure must coat the whole head evenly, since salt and nitrates only preserve the parts they reach. Turning the head often helps the cure penetrate and prevents spoilage in spots that were missed.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.